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[rainbase]

Wings For The Chariots
Arch Whitehouse
Doubleday & Co. 1973
256 Pages

Arch Whitehouse was one of the many American youngsters who made his way across the Atlantic to enlist and serve with the British forces in the Great War, serving first in the army, then as an air gunner and finally as a Camel pilot. After the war Whitehouse went on to become one of the era's more prolific writers, beginning with contributions to pulp fiction magazines and eventually going on to publish dozens of books on military aviation.

In modern times, with our knowledge of WW1 aviation greatly expanded, Whitehouse's non-fiction works have been widely dismissed for their numerous inaccuracies and embellishments. Indeed, some of the popular myths about the war that have held through the years probably have their origins in Arch Whitehouse writings.

And then there are his novels. Whitehouse liked telling a good story and his substantial body of work included somewhere in the area of twenty full length novels. These roughly fall into two categories; fiction for young adults and his "adult" novels (although, admittedly, even his novels in this latter category tend to lack a sophistication more mature readers might expect).

Wings For The Chariots falls into this latter category. It tells the story of of England's early efforts using tanks on the Western Front. The central characters are Lt. Clement and and his air gunner Sgt. Darby, a B.E.2c crew who witness one of the first British tanks in action and become fascinated with the new weapon. As the story unfolds, they are sent to photograph a lonely estate behind the lines where a mysterious young woman attempts to signal them before she is clutched by a brutish man and dragged into the mansion. In typical Whitehouse style, Wings For The Chariots is a minor spy story laid over the framework of a WW1 flying adventure. Along the way we will see those first tanks in action, the introduction of Bristol F2b's and the inevitable daring rescue.

The best part of Whitehouse's fiction are usually the actual flying and fighting scenes. Indeed, because the author flew so many times over the lines he brings an authenticity to his descriptions of aerial operations. This has always been the central strength to his work. Where he generally falls short, however, is in his development of characters and dialogue. Whitehouse never really creates characters that are fully believable. Although he changes the names and squadrons from book to book, his heroes are almost always the same person; a modest, idealistic young man who's motivation goes no deeper than an honest (but simplistic) patriotism. On top of this, Whitehouse tends to struggle with his dialogue, which is often wooden and unrealistic. All too often, the character's spoken lines seem to run together in a blurry, unmemorable manner.

Happily, Wings For The Chariots is one of Arch Whitehouse's better written yarns. As a rule of thumb, the author improved with age, and this tale, published in 1973 is one of his last novels. At the core of this story is the relationship between pilot and gunner and a running subplot that explores the class distinctions prevalent in English society at the time. In a rarer moment of inspiration, Whitehouse is fairly effective in separating his various characters; the central fliers, the commanding officer, the tank crew and the lovely spy. While not completely rising above being caricatures, these are better caricatures than is the usual Whitehouse fare.

As I said earlier, Whitehouse's best moment come in the air, which he is able to describe with a genuine authenticity. As a true fan of Great War flying fiction, enjoying the works of this author become someone problematic, but I tend to approach reading each Whitehouse volume with a sense of perspective. In the end, by keeping his work in context, they "are what they are"; decent adventure yarns, a little stiff maybe, but not without their charms.

[digger9693]

Hi rainbase...I'm actually reading an Arch Whitehouse book right now...."Years of the Sky Kings". Nice overview of the air war. I know you have an extensive library of books. Can you recommend one that has a good description of life at an aerodrome? I'd like to get a feel for what the routines were like day to day.
Cheers!

[rainbase]

Hey digger, I like "Sky Kings". You'll find that a lot of the folks in hear hate Whitehouse's non-fiction. It's not 100% accurate, but sure does come packed with information anyways. Old Arch sure had a passion for the heroes he fought alongside of.

For life on an aerodrome, Id like to make a couple suggestions:

No Parachute, by Arther G. Lee
I think most of the folks here will agree with my praises of this book. I first read this when I was 11 or 12 and still consider it essential. Drawn mostly from Lee's letters home, this one squarely puts the reader on an RFC aerodrome with 46 Squadron, beginning shortly after Bloody April.

Winged Victory, by Victor Yeates
Yeates began serving in RFC 46 about the time Lee was going home. Winged Victory is a novel, but really a thinly veiled version of his own experiences. Like Lee's account in 46, this book gives a great feel for the day to day life in the squadron.

The Airman's War, by Peter Liddle
This is a nice, well rounded attempt to describe the various aspects of life that an airman experienced during the war. It's well illustrated too.

The Fledgling, by Arch Whitehouse
This is Whitehouse's memoir of his own time, serving first as a gunner and then a pilot. In my opinion, this is his best book. Whitehouse does a very nice job describing his life serving with the British.

In The Company Of Eagles, by Ernest Gann
Lastly, I'l recommend another novel. This minor masterpiece by the famed American aviation author, follows the stories of a German and French pilot and their eventual rendevous over the front. It's a very good read.

So there are five recommendations, Digger. I hope this is helpful. I'll be interested to know what you think about these ones. Peace!

[Mata Hari]

I'm in the trenches with the French at the moment Under Fire by Henri Barbusse in the Buss translation. Soon I will be re-reading Horses Don't Have Wings, once my co-worker returns it. Also read With the German Guns (Herbert Sulzbach) this summer. Fascinating guy who served with the Brits in WWII.

[steven brown]

Hello everyone. I'm new and have never posted before. I just acquired a copy of " bloody april, black september ", which I highly recommend. Of course, you pros have probably read it years ago. Congratulations on this forum. I'm learning alot from all of you.

[rainbase]

Originally Posted by Mata Hari

Soon I will be re-reading Horses Don't Have Wings, once my co-worker returns it.

Hey Mata Hari, I'm guessing you mean Horses Don't Fly, by Frederick Libby? You're in for a treat. This book is so entertaining; this is a really fun read.

[rainbase]

Originally Posted by steven brown

Hello everyone. I'm new and have never posted before. I just acquired a copy of " bloody april, black september ", which I highly recommend. Of course, you pros have probably read it years ago. Congratulations on this forum. I'm learning alot from all of you.

Hi Steven, let me welcome you to the Aerodrome. This place is great. It's become a minor addiction of mine; there are some really bright folks who contribute here (I'm NOT one of those, by the way... although I do contribute). I read Bloody April/Black September about a year ago. I agree, it's a great book; I really liked the day by day format of it.

[Mata Hari]

Yes, Libby teeters on overblown 'Boy's Own Story' territory, but it always stays just on the literary side. It was a great read, and I'm looking forward to the second time around.

[retread]

My latest aviation reads are "Santos-Dumont, A Study in Obsession" by Peter Wykeham. (The author of this book had a colorful aviation career himself and was credited with 14 kills in WWII, flying Gloster Gladiator, Hurricane and Mosquito aircraft during that conflict). The NOVA series of PBS recently had an documentary regarding Santos-Dumont titled "Wings of Madness" which while good I feel was at times incomplete to the point of being misleading. Such are the advantages of a well researched book vs. a one hour documentary piece made for televison.
Right now I am reading "To Conquer the Air- The Wright Brothers and the Great Race for Flight", which ties in the simultaneous development of heavier than air aircraft by the Wright's , Langley, Glen Curtiss, Alexander G. Bell and the A.E.A. generally and yes, also Santos-Dumont.

[steven brown]

Thanks for the welcome Rainbase. I'm sure I'll learn alot here.